NME.COM at 15 – how the site has changed

As part of our 15th Birthday celebrations we’re taking a look back at the evolution of NME.COM over the years. Back in November 1996 it looked like this, which we’re assured was impressive at the time.

A year later, in October 1996, the site looked completely different. Content was proudly displayed on a white background with truncated yellow fingers offering Reviews, Charts, and a section just called “Angst”.

How the site looked in March 2000. By this point editors were using the web to post gig reports from the night before, rather than waiting a week and a half for the mag to come out. The Angst section was still going strong.

November 2000 and another radical redesign has taken place. Alongside an exclusive Massive Attack track stream, there was also a live session from Boo Radleys spin-off Brave Captain and a video report from a Backstreet Boys show. Well, music wasn’t really up to much in those days…

September 2001 and things started to look a bit more orgainised. The magazine had a little promotional spot and there were sections for news, features, reviews, artists and audio-video (a menu not too dissimilar to today’s offering). Liam was spouting off that day by the looks of it.

By the end of 2004 the site had had another major redesign. While many of the menu options remained the same, MyNME offered users the chance to log in to their own pages on the site, and ringtones were increasingly popular.

August 2006, and the site shifted to a shape we recognise today. The menu bar moved to the top of the page, its simplified options offering familiar fare. New Music was a top priority and regular music news saw visitor numbers shoot up.

The current format came into being in 2008. An expanded menu started to organise our burgeoning amount of content while news and photo galleries took top priority. NME Radio started streaming over the site too.

The last NME.COM look before its current incarnation. A video bar showcased our best new clips (now viewable at nmevideo.com), which has since been replaced by our big rotating homepage spot. For more 15th birthday frolics, head to the blog.